Why Is Everyone So Pissed About the EDM Reality Show?

Sabrina Riccio, a Palm Springs native and founder of the dance music lifestyle website peace.love.EDM, agrees. "I know a few people who've been on reality TV, and they've regretted it. The producers will do whatever it takes to tell the story they want to tell."

On her website, Riccio wrote an impassioned condemnation of the EDM reality show, declaring, "It's shows like this that are destroying the American EDM scene."

Speaking by phone from her home in San Diego, she elaborates. "It's completely destroying the essence of what this music is about, which is PLUR: peace, love, unity, respect," she says, citing a section of the application that asks would-be contestants to brag about their "physical, material and social" assets as proof that the show's emphasis won't be on the music. "To me, the whole idea of this show has no respect for the culture whatsoever.

"Jersey Shore made me sick to my stomach," she adds. "But I may be a little biased because I'm Italian."

For Maximilian Robinson, a 19-year-old producer based in Tennessee, the potential rewards outweigh the risks. Robinson, who's opened for Skrillex and dubstep-loving rockers Korn, has already submitted his application.

"I'm not worried at all," he says, when asked about the #StopEDMCasting uproar. "There's a lot of haters in the EDM scene but honestly none of them are important. People hate on Skrillex and look at him. I'm simply trying to make a career out of doing what I love."